


a toast like thunder

by chocchipkookie



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Secret Santa, the short ateez christmas special you never knew you needed!, there's no found family tag but idk a more fitting term to describe them, they're a family!, they're so full of love!, this is very sappy i'm so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocchipkookie/pseuds/chocchipkookie
Summary: in which the boys spend christmas together and exchange presents under the warm candlelight.
Relationships: ATEEZ Ensemble - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 52





	a toast like thunder

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays! i knew i wanted to write something short and sweet for christmas, and i finally managed to squeeze this one out! i got kind of emotional writing this, and maybe it's all over the place, but i just needed to write some sappy fluff. it's corny and cheesy but i am the sort of person who eats that up :')   
> whatever holiday you're celebrating this season, i hope you're happy and surrounded by your loved ones, and i hope this little drabble fills you with warmth <3   
> this is kind of my little thank-you piece to ateez, although i know that 3k words are not enough to thank them for the happiness and the love they've given me this past year. but, nevertheless, i hope they're all celebrating in one way or another <3 
> 
> enjoy! and happy holidays, too :D <3

“Wear some socks, Wooyoungie,” Seonghwa’s voice sounds particularly sleepy, even though it’s only late afternoon - it’s hard to adjust to a normal sleep schedule during sparse promotional events, “You’re gonna catch a cold,” he nags him lovingly, in the same tone he always does, the way that makes his lips pout and touch the bottom of his nose. 

He looks down at his bare feet - their new dorm is much warmer and has an amazing heating system, but Seoul is a freezing wintery landscape these days and the cold wind can’t help but seep in through the cracks of their apartment. “Okay, but you have to look over the pot, don’t let it burn, hyung.” 

“Just how long will it take you to wear your socks…” Seonghwa sighs and rolls his eyes, eliciting a pavlovian-like giggle from Wooyoung. He allows himself a small pinch to Seonghwa’s sides before he skips to his room, digging into his closet for some fluffy socks. When he comes back, his hyung is slowly stirring the soup with a wooden spoon. 

Yeosang is standing next to him, quiet and wrapped in his larger-than-life sweater with the hood on, like he always does - for some reason, he just likes to follow someone around the dorm or stand next to them in silence as they do something. Very much cat-like behavior, if you ask Wooyoung. 

“So skilled, hyung,” he says as he comes behind Seonghwa, but he doesn’t calculate for Seonghwa’s ability to poke him in the tummy with the hand behind his back. 

Yeosang giggles, a sound that exudes such innocence and evil at the same time, and makes his way towards the fridge. 

The day had begun with a slow start - almost all of them woke up just after noon, greeted with a grey, rumbling, thunderous sky and continuous rain, so dark and gloomy that it looked like the sun had already set at first. And yet, even though it felt like their dorm, the entire building, hell, the entire _ city  _ was wrapped in a fog of drowsiness and cruel winter air, they didn’t let that deter them from embracing the holiday spirit. 

Soft music plays through the sound system, christmas melodies that come from Jongho’s designated playlist - Wooyoung can hear him singing all the way from the bathroom, as he’s currently occupying the shower. There’s been a momentary pause to the thunder and rain; in the horizon, the clouds have broken apart just enough for a smidge of purple and pink to break through the dim atmosphere, colorful rays of setting sun kissing over the tops of the glass buildings and skyscrapers that make up the cityline of Seoul. One particular high note has Jongho belting his voice loud and clear despite the running water, just in time for their doorbell to ring. 

“Can you get that?” Wooyoung yells out at no-one in particular. He moves to lower the heat on the stove where the pot has started dangerously bubbling, and then turns to the side to check on the meat - he has a bad habit of starting multiple tasks at the same time, and he always ends up rushing to avoid a crisis. 

Lively chatter sounds from their doorfront, multiple foot-falls pitter-pattering on the wooden floor in tandem with laughs and giggles. “Appetizers are here!” someone announces, but Wooyoung only yells something affirmative but unintelligible in response, too busy frantically flipping around the simmering meat in the pan. 

“Oh, that smells so good,” a deep, sleepy voice whines next to him. “Wooyoungie, I didn’t know you’d cook up this much food, otherwise I would’ve told my mom not to make so many things…” 

Wooyoung turns to Mingi, who’s standing there in his pajamas after opening the door to his mom - it’s been a few days since he’s come back to the dorm, and all of them have been clinging onto him like newborn puppies after being without him for so long. “You’re seriously underestimating how much we can eat, Mingi-yah,” Wooyoung says confidently, “Besides, I’m not getting up to make more food once I sit down. Leftovers can always be reheated.” 

“Mm,” Mingi agrees, a soft smile making his cheeks rise like dough, “Should I put these on the table by the couch?” 

“Ah, yes, thank you!” 

Mingi begins carefully placing the appetizers and side dishes on the short table that’s placed in front of their comfy couch, making sure to leave enough space for the main dishes and their drinks. Just in time, San comes out of his room and plops down on the fluffy carpet by the table, eyes tracing the steaming containers that Mingi keeps bringing his way. Seonghwa, after having changed into the knitted beige turtleneck that Yunho and Wooyoung gifted him a year ago, hiding his palms in the makeshift sweater paws, curls on the couch near the armrest. 

Wooyoung hears rustling behind him, but he cannot be bothered to check who’s messing with his kitchen. Yes, it’s  _ his _ kitchen for the time being. 

Yeosang trots to the couch while holding the bottom hem of his sweater like a basket, clearly holding something in the make-shift pouch. Once he arrives on the couch, he takes a seat next to Seonghwa and dumps the contents of the pouch onto the space between them: a bunch of oranges and a bag of cloves. “Fun activity!” he announces. 

“What’s this?” San pouts, a curious look on his face as he scoots closer. 

“I was looking at suggestions for _ Yeosang’s Omniscient View, _ but since this is apparently a christmas tradition we wouldn’t have been able to film it, but I wanna try it anyway. They’re called pomander balls! You make shapes with the cloves on the oranges and they smell very nice.” 

“Oh,” Seonghwa whispers with child-like wonder, “I’m gonna make a heart,” he announces, already holding an orange in his palm. 

Soon enough, the three of them are immersed in their pomander-making, the smell of orange zest wafting throughout their apartment. San carefully pushes the cloves across the perimeter of the orange, creating a halo-like circle around it. 

“Smells like oranges in here,” Yunho says as he comes into the kitchen, “Oh wait, this smells better,” he leans into one of the bubbling pots, almost sticking his entire head in it. His ears immediately get red, and Wooyoung doesn’t miss his chance to flick them. 

The doorbell rings again, and this time Yunho rushes to open the door - his surprised shout makes everyone’s heads turn towards him. 

“Gift from our manager!” Hongjoong announces as he enters their apartment holding a huge white cardboard box in his arms, water dripping from his umbrella and coat. The rain has just started once again, faraway thunder getting closer. 

“What is it?” Mingi calls, who has now also taken a seat on the couch. He’s holding the first of many oranges that Seonghwa has already decorated. This specific one has an attempted bunny face on it. 

“Fruit cake!” Yeosang howls when he recognizes the label, “C’mon, bring it here-” 

“Yah! My food comes first!” Wooyoung protests, and Jongho cackles, “You’re just gonna eat that and then not eat mine, that’s not fair!” 

“ _ Of course  _ I’m gonna eat your food,” Yeosang musters an assuring tone, but he still makes grabby hands for the cake. 

It takes a while for all eight of them to sit around the table - Jongho and Hongjoong help Wooyoung move the pots off the stoves and place them snugly in between tupperware full of appetizers and fizzy drinks. They put on a new lo-fi holiday playlist and Yunho carefully lights a few candles around the room (most of them are unscented, but there’s a big one with three wicks that smells like peppermint and christmas tree that suffuses the room with a fresh scent) and once that’s done, he switches off the main lights - a satisfying, united “Oh!” comes from the couch - and lets the flickering flames illuminate the room. 

Once they’ve all gathered on the couch and the surrounding, large pillows on the floor, they dig right into the food - there’s loud talking and laughter, food being passed around their plates like a game of telephone, and Wooyoung gets so many compliments on his food that the blush on his cheeks reaches his neck. He’s leaning into Seonghwa’s neck, his other arm around Jongho, who’s passionately retelling memories from elementary school. San, Yeosang and Hongjoong have opted for the pillows on the floor, eagerly digging into the braised, ‘sous-vide made’ meat. Hongjoong, on his part, has been out all day, and Yeosang can already see him relaxing and closing his eyes while he eats, the warmth from the food and the atmosphere allowing him to not be so on edge. Their leader finally settles his head against Seonghwa’s knee, and their eldest glances at him with a fond smile, patting the crown of his head and immersing himself in the conversation once again. 

Mingi talks about his time spent while he was resting, animatedly explaining things and laughing whenever San butts in to tease him - the stories about his wisdom teeth removal have the group laughing in hysterics, an infectious cackle that almost makes Wooyoung almost spill his drink all over Yeosang’s head. Yunho notices the pomander balls that have been set aside for now and starts making one himself, even though he hasn’t finished his soup yet. Time passes quickly like this, with all eight of them together bouncing off of each other through conversation, bickering and laughter. 

“Can we give each other our gifts now?” San asks, forgoing any sense of subtlety. Seonghwa starts complaining about him ruining the surprise, “What, we all  _ know _ ! We walk into each others’ rooms everyday, as if I haven’t seen the christmas-themed wrapped boxes under the tree!” 

“Okay, fair,” Hongjoong speaks up, “We can exchange presents. As long as everyone’s okay with everyone else seeing what you picked out for your Secret Santee.” 

“Well I am confident in my gift-picking abilities and online shopping skills,” Jongho admits proudly. 

“Go first, then,” Wooyoung taunts him. “We’ll be the judge of that.” 

Jongho side-eyes him before finally getting up from the couch. He approaches the small christmas tree that they set up in the beginning of the month and reaches underneath, into the burrow that’s created under its branches and between the carpet and the red cloth, taking out a small box that he recognizes easily, “Just so you know, I didn’t wrap this myself,” he clarifies, “The-uh, the people at the store took care of that.” 

“What’s a store?” Yeosang suddenly asks in a deadpan voice, “You’re supposed to be Santa.” 

“Ah!” Hongjoong starts laughing when he gets it, “Yeah, you’re Santa for now, don’t you have elves who help you out?” 

Jongho sighs, but ultimately plays along, “Yes, I didn’t wrap this myself, my elves wrapped it for me.” Without saying anything else, he sits on the couch again but on Seonghwa’s side this time, and places it on his hyung’s lap with a gummy smile. 

“Me?” Seonghwa gasps smiling, eyes bulging out. “Jongho, you didn’t have to!” 

“What do you mean he didn’t have to,” Mingi starts laughing, “It’s a Secret Santa!” 

“Open it, open it,” San and Yunho prompt him, “I wanna see!” 

It ends up being a miniscule Star Wars figurine of one of the spaceships, a do-it-yourself one with a glass case to display it in and everything, “Don’t tell me you’re tearing up,” Hongjoong cackles when Seonghwa’s eyes get suspiciously wet as he hugs their youngest tightly and thanks him, despite Jongho’s feigned discomfort. “You’re such a sap.” 

They decide to go from youngest to eldest, since Jongho was first to go. Next is Wooyoung, who bounces happily to the tree and comes back with a larger box, placing it on Mingi’s lap and settling with his front to Mingi’s back, wrapping his arms around his friend’s chest. 

“Special item,” he says when Mingi unwraps it and sees his gift; it’s a cross-body leather bag, decorated with pins and embroidered fabric stitched onto the leather with thick thread, “I think you can really pull it off.” 

“It’s so cool!” Mingi smiles, eyes turning to crescents under the force of his cheeks, “‘S very editorial, I love it Wooyoungie…” 

When Mingi is done gushing over his new bag, he runs to the tree and comes back, sitting next to Jongho, producing a stainless steel thermos, “To keep your coffee warm or cold, although I’m pretty sure you’re just gonna keep iced americano in that all day long,” Mingi explains, beaming at the huge smile Jongho has on his face, “The stickers are waterproof, too!” he says, motioning to the diy decorations he’s put all over the flask. 

Of course, the gifts are passed around the group so that everyone can take a peek. Soon enough, it’s San’s turn - he’s Yunho’s Secret Santa, and his gift is the largest box under the three, something that has been perplexing the rest of them for weeks now. 

“Ah!” Yunho shouts in glee when he rips apart the wrapping paper to reveal a matching set of gaming keyboards that light up multicolored, “Sannie!” he grins, and the two of them dissolve into an unintelligible conversation filled with excitement. Somehow, San ends up halfway onto Yunho’s lap, while the rest of them laugh at the duo’s antics. 

“You literally bought a gift for yourself in the meantime!” Wooyoung protests. 

“I found a good deal on these two! It would have been a shame to let go off them…” he muses, hugging his new keyboard. 

Next up is Yeosang - his gift is small and delicate, and Hongjoong’s eyes bulge out when he gives it to him, “Oh? What’s this?” 

“Open it,” says Yeosang. 

On the inside, there’s a tiny blue box that holds a pair of shiny studded earrings, shaped like daisies - the yellow is yolk-colored and vibrant, and the petals are coated with a fine layer of glitter. “Yeosangie, they’re so pretty…” he whispers, blushing. Everyone’s overjoyed to see their leader so stunned and out of words that they can’t help but tease him, shaking his shoulders and patting his hair.

“I figured you’d like them,” his Secret Santa says with a satisfied smile. “I’ll admit I saw them when I picked over one of the stylists’ shoulder while she was browsing on her phone during the summer promotions for ‘Fever’.” 

“They suit you!” Jongho says now that Hongjoong has tried them on, shaking his head to show them off and waiting to be showered with compliments. 

“Okay, I should also give Yeosangie my gift to him,” Yunho speaks up suddenly as he stands up. The pile has grown significantly smaller now, and the bottom of the tree looks shockingly empty. Yunho, however, runs to their balcony instead, and comes back holding something tenderly in his embrace that is, for a change, not wrapped, “I couldn’t keep it in, it’s too hot for the poor thing.” 

It’s a small glass terrarium, shaped like a hexagon, and it houses many small succulents and miniscule cacti, and Yeosang holds it in his palms like he’s caught the moon, “You got me a plant!” 

“Wait, this is the first plant we’ve ever had in our dorm!” Seonghwa realizes, “Let’s take good care of it so that it doesn’t die on us.” 

“Well, I got him succulents because they don’t need that much care or water,” Yunho explains, “Even if we’re almost always away, these little guys can handle themselves just fine.” 

Yeosang nods, carefully sticking his finger inside to press the pad of his index against the prickles of the cacti experimentally. 

Wooyoung’s Secret Santa is Seonghwa, and he does not hesitate to jump onto his lap on the couch, almost knocking over their drinks and sticking his sock-covered foot into a bowl full of kimchi soup. “You’re a safety hazard,” San laughs as he moves around the plates so that they’re not near Wooyoung’s dangerously dexterous limbs. 

Hongjoong howls in laughter when Seonghwa reveals his gift, “Ya, what is that?” 

“ _ ‘Enjoy MukWooyoung!’ _ ” Wooyoung reads out, so excited he can’t keep still, “I’m never taking this off! I’m gonna wear this in all my cooking videos! Thank you hyung…” he says, clutching the light brown apron in his hands. 

“It was either that or a small knife set, and we already have enough knives,” Seonghwa explains, ruffling Wooyoung’s hair. 

“No more knives for this one,” Jongho agrees. 

Finally, it’s San’s turn, and Hongjoong takes the last present that’s sitting under the christmas tree and watches as San joyfully unwraps it. 

It’s a delicate chain necklace that sits near his collarbones, a tiny ‘S’ dangling from it, its silver material twinkling under the flickering candlelight, “Ah, hyung, this is so…” he begins, but can’t really find the proper words. So he opts for a soft smile, pushing his face into Hongjoong’s neck, “Thank you.” 

Now that the gift-exchange has seemingly ended, they start conversing again, wondering if they should put on a film or a drama episode to watch. What they don’t notice is that Hongjoong has tip-toed to his room and has come back with another mysterious bag. 

Yunho is the first one to notice, “What’s that?” 

Hongjoong’s expression turns shy again, which gives them the opportunity to coo and laugh at him once again. He lands onto the empty space of the couch, and waits until all of them have calmed down. 

“Matching phone charms,” Hongjoong reveals shyly; eight metallic butterflies, colored with spray messily in all sorts of different colors, but they all look characteristically  _ Hongjoong. _ They’re all attached with a tiny delicate chain to a matching pop-socket to stick onto their phones. 

“Hyung!” Yunho cries out, “Did you make these?” 

“Mmm.” 

“When?” Mingi asks, already attaching his to his phone. 

“I finished them today. As your leader,” he begins, “It wouldn’t have been right not to give you guys something this Christmas. I want to thank you for your hard work this past year - I know it hasn’t been easy, I’m gonna take a leap and guess that it’s been the hardest year for the world in general. But despite everything, our tiring schedules and all the unfortunate changes, you guys still pulled through. And I want to thank you for being so strong, for being my bandmates and most importantly my friends. I-” he takes a deep breath, playing with his fingers nervously and looking down at his own lap, but everyone can tell that his throat is closing up and his ears are just a bit more watery than usual - because everyone else is in a similar disposition. 

“I’m the luckiest person in the world to have you. I love you guys.” 

It’s silent for a moment, a weird silence safe for the crackling wick of the candles, until a soft sniffle cuts through the tension and Wooyoung cries out to Seonghwa, “Don’t tell me you’re crying…” he tries to laugh, but when they all turn to look at him there are droplets of tears already spilling down his cheeks, his nose a rosy red. 

“You’re one to talk,” Seonghwa pouts, “Our leader has such a way with words…”

“I missed you so much,” Mingi suddenly speaks up, throat tight and voice trembling. “We talked everyday, I know, and taking a break was something I desperately needed. But I j-just, I missed this, I missed you-” 

“I’m not used to seeing you like this,” San admits, “Don’t cry, you’re supposed to be bouncing around right now,” he jokes, sniffling. 

“We missed you terribly, too,” Yeosang whispers, “How could we not?” 

It’s a weird feeling, to laugh and tease each other like this while being snotty and red-faced and crying, but they bask into it like a cat under the sun, indulging the overflowing emotions that they can finally acknowledge and let go. They huddle closer until they’re all cuddling, warm and cozy. They don’t say much, but there’s no need - there’s a sort of comforting safety net around them like this, while they sniffle and sigh while the rain pours outside, wind howling and thunder echoing in the distance. 

“We should drink something,” Yunho suggests. 

“We have one bottle of wine,” Wooyoung murmurs. 

“We could all use a few gulps of it,” Jongho mentions, “I’ll go get it.” 

While he opens the bottle, San distributes cups to all of them - they all end up with a small portion, just enough for the taste. 

“Leader should make a toast,” Seonghwa proposes. 

“Like a thunder?~” Yunho sing-songs, but jumps when a particularly loud burst of thunder crackles outside. 

“Seems fitting,” Mingi chuckles. 

They all turn to look at Hongjoong. When he sees their red eyes and noses, he can’t help but laugh, “Alright, a toast like thunder,” he agrees, pursing his lips together as he thinks. 

“To us. To ATEEZ. To brighter times, that are sure to come, and that we are to experience them all together.” 

Cups clink together like a promise, a united sound that settles the worries in their hearts and brings them all together as one. 

They decide to put on one of Seonghwa’s favorite movies for his sake - but secretly it’s because they like it when he does his passionate rants of commentary - and then one movie turns into two, until half of them are dozing off on the couch, and the rest are ready to fall asleep too under the fluffy blanket that they’ve covered themselves with. Most of the candles have burnt down, only the smallest of flames giving off the tiniest bit of illumination in the living-room. 

Outside, the rain has started to look more like snow now. The streets are empty and cold, but the buildings of Seoul are lit up like fairy lights, houses full of warmth and good food and people coming together so as to not feel alone anymore. Tomorrow, the eight of them will have to wake up early to clean up the mess they’ve made, and even pass by the company for a meeting. Reality and schedules will come back to normal. 

But for now, they stay like this, wrapped in a hazy mist of sleepiness and warmth, together. 

And tomorrow, they’ll be together, too. 

**Author's Note:**

> if you'd like, come find me on twitter @milkytae12 ! i love you all so much, and thank you for reading <3<3


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